Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
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F74 


THE  J.  PAUL  GETTY  MUSEUM  LIBRARY 


n 


MASTERS  IX  ART  PLATE  I 

PHOTOGRAPH  BY  GOUPIL  *.  CO. 

[4r,] 


FOKTUNY 

PORTRAIT  OF  A SPAXISH  LADY 
MKT ROPOLITA  X MUSEUM,  NEW  YORK 


WAIiTEJRS  GALLERY,  BALTIMORE 


PMOPEKTY  OF  W 


" ' - 


'ED  BY  SENOB  BAUEB,  MADHID 


MASTERS  IX  ART  PLATE  VI 


[55] 


FORTUX V 

A A'EGEO  OF  MOROCCO 
OWXED  BY  MRS.  F.  A.  BEER,  LOMlOX 


GAHDEN  OF  THE  POETS 
OWNED  BY  M.  HOEHEN,  PAPIS 


FOKTim  Y 


[61  3 COLLECTION  OK  MARQUISE  DE  CAECAHO,  PARIS 


o 

Pi 


X 


& 


o l , 


J»<  >KTJ{  A IT  OF  l 'OKTl  A Y 

Fortuny’s  head  is  characteristically  Latin,  with  its  superabundant  curly 
hair,  its  moustache  and  barbiche . Baron  Davilliers describes  him  as  be- 
ing quite  regular  in  feature.  One  gets  the  idea  from  this  picture  that 
the  nose  is  a little  heavy  in  shape.  The  eyes  are  the  fine  thing  in  the 
face — -eyes  that  can  look  and  see  and  judge.  The  lower  part  of  the 
face  is  rather  unpleasantly  heavy,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  forehead 
is  admirable  in  its  breadth  and  strength. 


[04  1 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


Dlartano  tfottuug 

BORN  1838:  DIED  1874 
SPANISH  SCHOOL 

MARIANO  FORTUNY  was  born  at  Reus,  a little  town  in  the  province 
of  Tarragon,  which  is  in  Catalonia,  one  of  the  five  great  divisions  of 
Spain.  Fortuny  — his  full  name  was  Mariano  Jose-Maria-Bernardo  Fortuny 
y Carbo  — was  born  on  June  n,  1838.  His  father  died  in  Mariano’s  infancy 
and  he  was  brought  up  by  his  grandfather,  also  named  Mariano  Fortuny, 
who  was  a cabinet-maker.  He  was  a skilful  man  with  his  hands  and  also 
modeled  little  wax  figures,  in  the  making  of  which  his  grandchild  assisted 
him.  These  they  exhibited  over  the  countryside,  tramping  from  town  to 
town. 

Fortuny  early  showed  a talent  for  drawing.  His  schoolmates,  as  is  so  often 
the  case  with  great  artists,  recalled  in  after  life  how  he  used  to  ornament  his 
books  with  designs.  At  about  nine  years  of  age  he  entered  a public  course  in 
drawing  which  had  lately  been  established  at  Reus.  An  amateur  of  the  town, 
Mr.  Domingo  Soberano,  noticed  his  work  and  encouraged  him.  Fortuny 
daily,  for  a number  of  years,  spent  some  hours  working  at  his  house. 

At  the  age  of  twelve  he  had  already  painted  a number  of  pictures,  most  of 
them  representing  Madonnas.  Naturally,  they  are  not  very  good,  but  it  is 
singular  that  a child  of  twelve  should  be  able  to  paint  them  at  all.  At  fourteen 
years,  Fortuny,  with  his  grandfather,  left  Reus  for  Barcelona,  the  capital  of 
the  province  of  Catalonia.  His  ambition  was  to  follow  the  course  of  the  Acad- 
emy of  Barcelona.  A sculptor,  Mr.  Domingo  Taleru,  saw  some  of  his  sketches 
and,  much  impressed  by  them,  secured,  through  the  aid  of  some  kind  priests, 
a pension  of  eight  dollars  a month,  which  enabled  young  Mariano  to  go  to 
the  Academy. 

Fortuny  studied  under  Mr.  Claudio  Lorenzale,  an  estimable  man  who  was, 
strange  to  say,  a pupil  of  Overbeck.  The  idea  of  Fortuny  making  studies  in 
the  manner  of  Overbeck  is  amusing.  Fortuny,  however,  had  the  highest  re- 
gard for  his  first  master,  and  always  spoke  of  him  with  respect  and  esteem. 
While  at  the  Academy  of  Barcelona  Fortuny  got  hold  of  some  lithographic 
drawings  by  Gavarni,  the  famous  French  illustrator.  He  was  greatly  impressed 
and  moved  by  these,  copied  them  again  and  again,  and  going  about  the  city 
tried  to  draw  the  interesting  types  he  saw  in  something  the  same  manner. 

[65] 


24 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


At  the  same  time  he  was  painting  in  quite  a different  way;  to  wit,  the  dry 
and  rather  weak  facture  of  Overbeck.  At  this  time  he  made  pictures  curiously 
unlike  his  later  production.  One  of  these  paintings  was  ‘The  Apparition  of 
the  Virgin  of  Pity.’  Later  he  executed,  in  an  Academy  competition,  ‘St.  Paul 
speaking  before  the  Areopagus  at  Athens;’  and  the  next  year  ‘Charles  of 
Anjou,  on  the  Beach  of  Naples,  witnesses  the  Burning  of  his  Ships  by  Rogier 
de  Lauria.’  These  pictures  give  no  indication  of  his  future  talent. 

In  1856  Fortuny  won  the  competition  for  a Prize  of  Rome,  newly  offered  by 
the  city  of  Barcelona.  The  subject  was  ‘Raymond  Beranger  in.  fastening  the 
Seal  of  Barcelona  on  the  Tower  of  the  Castle  of  Foix’  — not,  one  would  sup- 
pose, a very  inspiring  motif.  Howbeit,  Fortuny  gained  the  prize,  and  with  it  a 
pension  of  about  five  hundred  dollars  a year  for  two  years.  After  some  trouble 
about  his  military  service,  a friend  finally  lending  the  money  with  which  to 
pay  for  a substitute,  he  was  able  to  proceed  to  Rome,  where  he  arrived  on 
March  19,  1858. 

There  was,  at  this  time,  in  Rome  quite  a colony  of  Spanish  artists,  with 
whom  Fortuny  affiliated  himself.  He  worked  incessantly  throughout  the  day, 
and  in  the  evenings  he  was  accustomed  to  study  in  the  famous  Academy  Gigi, 
where  he  drew  from  the  nude  for  two  hours  and  for  two  hours  from  the  draped 
figure.  Gigi  afterwards  told  Mr.  d’Epinay  that  Fortuny  hardly  missed  a 
night  for  years.  He  regarded  the  work  he  did  there  as  of  no  importance,  and 
used  to  leave  his  drawings  on  the  floor.  The  caretaker  would  sweep  them  up 
and  usually  destroy  them.  Sometimes,  however,  he  tacked  them  up  on  the 
walls  and,  later,  used  to  sell  them  for  a few  francs  apiece.  D’Epinay,  who  had 
a feeling  that  Fortuny  would  one  day  be  famous,  bought  a few  of  these.  It  is 
related  that  an  American  artist,  who  shall  be  nameless,  worked  at  the  Acad- 
emy at  the  same  time  and  could  have  acquired  many  of  these  drawings,  but 
as  he  did  not  care  about  Fortuny’s  work  he  neglected  his  opportunity. 

In  i860  war  broke  out  between  Spain  and  Morocco,  and  Fortuny  was  given 
the  opportunity  to  go,  in  the  suite  of  that  General  Prim  whom,  later,  Regnault 
painted  in  so  gallant  a fashion.  This  journey  was  a revelation  to  Fortuny. 
He  worked  constantly,  making  rapid  sketches  of  everything  he  saw.  From 
this  time  his  style  began  to  change,  the  first  signs  being  a pronounced  prefer- 
ence for  Arab  subjects. 

Returning  to  Rome,  he  continued  to  work  with  that  intensity  which  always 
characterized  him.  After  two  years  the  city  of  Barcelona  discontinued  his 
pension,  but  the  same  amount  was  advanced  to  him  for  years  by  the  Duke  of 
Rianzares.  Among  other  ways  of  eking  out  his  income,  Fortuny  gave  lessons 
to  the  daughters  of  Oueen  Christina. 

A change  had  begun  in  Fortuny’s  technique  at  about  the  time  of  his  return 
from  Morocco  and  from  the  battle  of  Tetuan.  That  trip  had  opened  his  eyes 
to  the  brilliancy  of  outdoor  Oriental  color,  and  ever  afterwards  in  some 
measure  he  tried  for  the  qualities  of  brilliant,  sparkling  color.  There  is  a 
comparatively  long  period  between  his  sketches  for  the  battle  of  1 etuan  and 
his  first  successful  sub|ect-pictures,  of  which  we  do  not  find  much  work  pre- 
served. Nevertheless,  during  these  years  he  was  working  at  the  highest 

[66] 


FORTUNY 


25 


pressure,  and  it  was  during  this  time  that  the  change  was  somehow  achieved 
from  his  early  manner  — rather  dry,  tight,  and  timid  — to  his  later  style, 
so  bright  and  gay  and  skilful. 

At  this  period  also  Fortuny  made  a number  of  etchings.  These,  perhaps 
from  the  material,  have  a certain  severity  and  gravity  which  one  does  not 
associate  with  his  gayer  paintings.  In  these  etchings,  especially,  is  noticeable 
that  solicitude  for  light  and  shade  which  is  the  hall-mark  of  every  great  artist. 
Some  of  these  — certain  etchings  of  Arabs  — are  very  remarkable  works,  and 
there  is  an  etching  of  a ‘Piping  Shepherd’  which  is  of  a singular  charm.  In 
some,  the  general  effect  of  the  etchings  is  more  serious  than  that  of  the  paint- 
ings. There  is  an  austerity  about  them  which  comes  from  the  severe  study 
of  the  edge  of  the  shadow  and,  too,  from  the  blackness  of  the  shadows.  In 
this,  Fortuny  is  a true  son  of  Zurbaran  and  of  Ribera.  In  fact,  his  etchings 
seem  more  like  the  old  art  of  Spam  than  do  his  paintings. 

About  this  time  Henri  Regnault,  who  was  at  the  Villa  Medici  as  winner  of 
the  Prix  de  Rome , met  Fortuny  and  was  immensely  moved  by  his  work.  The 
young  and  impressionable  Frenchman  was  greatly  influenced  by  the  clever 
Spaniard,  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  note  certain  traces  of  his  influence  through 
the  later  examples  — all  too  few  — of  his  work.  Regnault  was  trained  in  the 
severe  manner  of  the  Ecole  de  Beaux-Arts,  a training  quite  different  from 
Fortuny’s  hand-to-mouth  education,  but  there  was  something  similar  in  the 
natures  of  the  two  men.  They  both  loved  brilliant,  scintillating  things.  They 
were  enamoured  of  passionate  life,  sunlight,  and  the  cynical  beauty  of  terrible 
scenes. 

Regnault  said  of  Fortuny’s  pictures:  “They  are  prodigious  in  color  and  in 
boldness  of  painting.  Oh,  what  a painter  he  is,  that  chap!”  And  again  lie 
writes:  “I  yesterday  passed  the  day  with  Fortuny,  and  it  ‘broke  my  arms  and 
legs.’  He  is  astonishing,  that  ‘ gatllard-l'a.’  He  has  marvels  at  his  place.  He 
is  the  master  of  us  all.  If  you  could  see  the  two  or  three  pictures  which  he  is 
finishing  just  now,  and  the  water-color  which  he  has  made  these  latter  days! 
O Fortuny!  You  drive  me  from  sleep.” 

In  i860  he  came  to  Paris  for  a time,  and  there  met  his  compatriots  Zamacois 
and  Rico.  Zamacois,  a painter  of  very  remarkable  talent,  put  him  in  relations 
with  the  art  firm  of  Goupil  & Company.  They  gave  him  many  orders  for  pic- 
tures, and  this  was  the  real  begininng  of  his  success  and  fame. 

In  1867  Fortuny  married  Cecilia  de  Madrazo,  the  daughter  of  that  Pedro 
Madrazo  who  was  the  Director  of  the  Academy  of  Madrid  and  later  the 
Curator  of  the  famous  Museo  del  Prado.  Madrazo  was  a painter  of  the  older 
school,  trained  in  academic  conventions;  yet  he  was  cordial  to  Fortuny  and 
to  his  art,  which  he  recognized  as  a glory  of  Spain.  His  two  sons  Raimundo 
and  Ricardo  de  Madrazo  also  became  artists,  and  though  their  early  work 
was  somewhat  influenced  by  Fortuny,  one  of  them  at  least,  Raimundo,  be- 
came a painter  of  marked  ability.  His  early  work  is  much  finer  than  that  done 
in  later  years,  when  he,  to  some  extent,  degenerated  into  being  a mere  fashion- 
able portrait-painter. 

In  1868  Fortuny  began  his  picture  called  ‘The  Vicaria’  (‘The  Spanish 

[0  7] 


26 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


Marriage’),  which  a year  or  two  later  made  an  enormous  sensation  in  Paris. 
Even  so  late  as  this  he  copied  Velasquez  and  Goya  at  the  Musee  Real.  To- 
wards the  end  of  1869  he  went  to  Paris,  and  somewhat  later  his  ‘Spanish 
Marriage’  (Plate  ix)  was  exhibited  in  Goupil’s  Gallery.  It  excited  great 
admiration.  Every  one  was  saying,  “Have  you  seen  Fortuny’s  picture?” 
Its  success  was  enormous;  but  Fortuny,  unspoiled  by  this,  remained  the 
simple,  modest,  hard-working  artist  he  always  had  been. 

Fortuny  on  this  visit  to  Paris  was  received,  so  to  say,  with  open  arms. 
Meissonier,  who  was,  in  a certain  sense,  a rival,  in  that  his  genre  was  of  the 
same  sort  though  his  manner  was  very  different,  treated  the  Spaniard  with 
great  cordiality.  Gerome  also  showed  him  great  consideration.  Indeed, 
most  of  the  distinguished  artists  of  Paris  exhibited  great  interest  in  him  and 
in  his  work.  His  ‘Spanish  Marriage’  had  been  exhibited  in  Goupil’s  Gallery 
and  had  created  immense  interest. 

His  technique,  even  in  Paris,  where  the  cleverest  technicians  are  supposed 
to  live,  was  considered  wonderful.  It  was  of  a brilliancy  which,  till  then,  had 
not  been  known.  And,  indeed,  it  may  be  said  that  for  sheer  brilliancy  com- 
bined with  a singular  soundness  the  technique  of  Fortuny  is  still  remarkable. 
Some  of  Boldini’s  early  Italian  work,  made  under  the  influence  of  Fortuny, 
is,  if  possible,  even  cleverer  in  a sort  of  insane  virtuosite,  but  it  is  not  so  sound. 
Fortuny’s  work,  even  at  its  cleverest,  had  a good  deal  the  look  of  nature. 

Fortuny  also  went  to  England,  where  he  was  warmly  received  by  John 
Everett  Millais.  His  stay  in  London  was  not  long,  however,  and  his  visit  to 
Britain  seems  to  have  had  no  influence  on  his  art,  although  he  made  many 
sketches  at  the  Tower  and  other  points  of  interest.  Among  other  things,  he 
went  with  his  friend  Baron  Davillier  to  see  Madame  Tussaud’s  famous  col- 
lection of  waxworks,  and  as  they  descended  the  stairs  Fortuny  gaily  slapped 
his  companion  on  the  back,  saying,  “And  to  think  that  I,  too,  used  to  make 
those  things!” 

In  1870  Fortuny  spent  some  time  in  Granada,  the  old  home  of  the  Moorish 
Emirs,  and  produced  some  fine  work.  On  returning  to  Rome,  he  worked 
hard  at  his  ‘Choice  of  a Model’  (Plate  in),  or,  as  it  was  then  called,  ‘Acad- 
emicians of  St.  Luke,’  and  another  picture  of  theatricals  in  a garden.  After 
another  visit  to  Paris  and  to  London  he  returned  to  Italy  and  went  to  Portici, 
a watering-place  near  Naples.  Here  he  rented  a villa,  and  here  he  painted  his 
famous  ‘ Beach  at  Portici,’  which  is  one  of  the  finest  of  his  works. 

Toward  the  very  end  of  his  life  Fortuny  gave  signs  of  changing  his  manner. 
Indeed,  his  famous  ‘Beach  at  Portici,’  the  artistic  ancestor  of  countless  His- 
pano-Italian  beach  scenes,  distinctly  marked  this  change.  It  is  interesting  to 
speculate,  by  the  way,  on  whether  this  subject  was  suggested  to  Fortuny  by 
Goya’s  ‘Beach  at  San  Isidro.’  Whether  or  no  the  subject  is  thus  suggested, 
the  manner  is  quite  different,  being  more  in  the  Japanesque  style.  Fortuny, 
perhaps  during  his  visit  to  Paris,  had  become  greatly  interested  in  Japanese 
prints.  They  were  at  that  time  all  the  rage  in  Paris.  Braquemond  had  dis- 
covered some  prints  in  a packing-box,  and  Manet,  Alfred  Stevens,  the  Gon- 
courts,  Fantin  Latour,  Whistler,  and  all  the  most  able  of  the  younger  artists 

[68] 


FORTU  NY 


27 


were  deeply  interested  in  them.  Millet  and  Rousseau  quarreled  about  the 
ownership  of  Japanese  prints.  A Japanese  Cenacle  was  formed,  at  which  the 
owners  of  Japanese  prints  dined  in  Japanese  fashion.  Possibly  Fortuny  had 
come  under  the  influence  of  this  group.  At  all  events,  he  knew  and  deeply 
admired  Japanese  work.  And  he  dreamed  of  reproducing  in  his  own  work 
something  of  the  broad,  simple  sweeps  of  tone  which  later  appeared  in  the 
works  of  Manet  and  of  Whistler.  Save  in  the  ‘Beach  at  Portici’  and  one  or 
two  studies  this  was  not  to  be,  for  death  intervened  between  the  painter  and 
his  projects. 

It  is  interesting,  yet  vain,  to  speculate  on  what  Fortuny  might  have  done 
had  he  been  given  the  years  of  other  men.  As  it  was,  he  died  so  early  that  one 
marvels  at  his  accomplishment  in  the  years  that  were  his.  He  had  spent  the 
summer  very  pleasantly  with  his  family  at  Portici,  had  accomplished  some 
good  work,  and  was  planning  new  things  of  a different  nature  from  what  he 
had  as  yet  accomplished.  It  seems  that  he  worked  too  late  in  the  deadly  twi- 
light hours  of  Italy.  At  all  events,  he  caught  a fever,  what  the  old  books  used 
to  call  a tertian  ague,  and  after  a short  sickness  died,  at  Rome,  on  November 
21,  1874.  One  of  the  last  things  he  did  on  the  last  day  of  his  life  — and  it  is 
characteristic  of  his  habits  of  incessant  labor  — was  to  make  a little  drawing 
from  a mask  of  Beethoven.  His  death  created  general  mourning  in  Rome, 
where  he  was  much  loved.  An  immense  crowd  followed  the  funeral  cortege, 
and  it  was  said  that  never  had  prince  or  noble  such  obsequies. 

All  accounts  agree  that  Fortuny  was  of  an  admirable  nature  — quiet, 
amiable  if  taciturn,  strong-willed,  and  hard-working.  He  was  one  of  those 
artists  whose  life  is  so  wrapped  up  in  their  work  that  they  have  no  time  for 
anything  else.  He  was  a loyal  friend,  a man  of  most  pleasant  manners,  but 
his  work  engulfed  his  life  to  such  an  extent  that  one  does  not  hear  much  of 
his  doings  outside  of  his  work. 

Yriarte  describes  him  as  “very  robust,  well  built,  like  a Catalan,  a little 
abrupt,  concentrated,  taciturn,  resolute  in  difficult  moments,  he  was  used  to 
hardships,  always  ready  for  everything;  and  he  went  under  fire,  without  vain 
phrases.”  And  again:  “Almost  always  silent,  negative,  but  without  gloom  or 
ill  humor,  easy  to  live  with,  obliging  and  friendly,  indifferent  to  exterior 
things.”  Baron  Davillier  says  of  him:  “Fortuny  was  somewhat  above  middle 
height.  His  features,  regular  and  extremely  handsome,  expressed  the  frank- 
ness and  honesty  of  his  character.  A great  enemy  of  etiquette  and  of  cere- 
mony, he  talked  but  little,  and  was  at  first  reserved  with  new-comers  on  account 
of  his  natural  timidity.  But  with  those  whom  he  liked  he  showed  himself, 
on  the  other  hand,  very  expansive.” 

Fortuny  was  an  insatiate  worker.  After  painting  all  day  in  his  studio  he 
would  make  drawings  and  sketches  in  the  evening.  Even  when  there  was 
some  social  gathering  at  his  house  — for  his  wife  was  a brilliant  hostess  — 
Fortuny,  quiet  and  taciturn,  though  amiable,  would  generally  be  found  in 
some  corner  working  out  sketches  with  pencil  and  paper  for  some  future 
performance.  In  his  early  days  in  Rome  he  was  a constant  attendant  at  the 
night  sketching-classes.  The  day  was  not  long  enough  for  him,  and  it  may 

[69] 


28 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


be  that  in  this  evening  work,  where  the  model  appeared  with  light  and  shade 
emphasized  by  the  marked  lamplight  effect,  he  developed  and  then  affirmed 
that  manner  which  became  so  characteristic  of  him.  At  all  events,  that  man- 
ner, so  light  and  gay  and  easy  looking,  was  the  efflorescence,  as  it  were,  of 
the  hardest  kind  of  work;  for  nothing  gives  true  facility  but  constant  effort  and 
practice. 

Fortuny’s  drawing  is  always  effective  and  interesting,  and  he  invented,  or 
at  least  he  made  more  definite,  a new  kind  of  drawing;  for  where  the 
Academicians  drew  by  line,  where  the  followers  of  Rembrandt  on  the  one 
hand  and  of  Correggio  on  the  other  drew  by  light  and  shade,  Fortuny  drew 
by  the  accents.  That  is,  noting  here,  there,  elsewhere,  the  points  at  which  the 
darkest  notes  came,  he  spotted  them  down;  and  then,  working  from  these 
nuclei,  he  evolved  his  drawings.  This  method  was  at  the  bottom  of  his  bril- 
liancy of  effect.  In  his  hands  some  splendid  results  were  achieved.  In  the 
hands  of  his  imitators  the  method  degenerated  at  times  to  a spotty,  flashy 
style.  The  great  advantage  of  the  method  was  that  a man  was  apt  to  get  his 
placements,  his  proportions,  well  considered  and  right.  One  of  its  disadvan- 
tages was  that  in  unskilful  hands  the  drawing  seemed  to  lack  construction,  to 
lack  that  look  of  having  a backbone  which  well-drawn  figures  have. 

As  to  his  color,  it  was  often  agreeable.  Indeed,  Fortuny  may  be  called  a 
colorist  in  this,  that  he  was  deeply  interested  in  color,  that  he  composed  his 
pictures  from  a colorist’s  point  of  view,  that  his  color  was  almost  always  agree- 
able and,  despite  its  brilliancy,  never  clashed.  And  yet  he  can  hardly  be  con- 
sidered a very  great  colorist,  because  his  color-schemes,  like  everything  else 
in  his  works,  lacked  a little  of  that  ensctnble  which  the  very  finest  pictures 
always  have.  He  delighted  in  difficulties  of  color,  and  when  some  one  asked 
him  why,  in  his  ‘Choice  of  a Model’  (Plate  in),  he  had  posed  the  nude 
figure  against  a pink  silk  background  he  replied  that  the  difficulty  of  the 
scheme  interested  him.  He  liked  to  paint  the  grayish,  shriveled  skin  of  old 
men  against  a brilliant  red  ground.  These  rather  bizarre  harmonies  de- 
lighted him. 

His  values,  or  relations  of  tones,  were  in  the  main  good,  although  in  his 
constant  effort  for  brilliancy  he  tended  to  over-accentuate  the  dark  spots. 
Put,  like  almost  all  Spaniards,  he  was  primarily  interested  in  tone  and  light 
and  shade  relations;  and  even  when  he  failed  his  failure  was  that  of  a man 
who  thoroughly  understands  his  subject  but  also  has  attempted  the  impos- 
sible, rather  than  the  flat  failure  of  a mere  incompetent.  When  he  felt  par- 
ticularly serious,  as  in  his  ‘ Portrait  of  a Spanish  Lady’  (Plate  i),  at  the  Metro- 
politan Museum,  he  was  apt  to  make  his  “values”  with  admirable  justness, 
though  even  here  the  tones  are  a little  frittered  up  with  inconsequent  dabs. 

Again,  his  “Pen  and  Ink”  sketches  are  always  remarkable.  Indeed, 
Fortuny  may  be  said  to  be  the  greatest  handler  of  pen  and  ink  who  has  lived. 
Presumably  most  of  his  sketches  were  not  made  for  reproduction.  At  the 
same  time,  they  do  reproduce  admirably,  and  they  are  at  the  bottom  of  the 
pen-and-ink  method  of  the  Hispano-Italian  School,  which  has  sometimes 
produced  such  brilliant  results.  Like  all  his  drawing,  and  his  painting  as 


FORTUNY 


29 


well,  it  was  based  first  of  all  on  the  skilful  and  sympathetic  placement  and  indi- 
cation of  the  strongest  darks.  From  these  the  form  was  modeled  out  towards 
the  lights.  But  apart  from  this  there  is  a nervous  intensity,  and  at  the  same 
time  a lightness  of  touch  in  the  line,  that  is  remarkable.  Something  of  all  this 
may  have  been  learned  from  his  etching;  yet,  on  the  whole,  the  pen  and  inks 
seem  even  more  individual  and  personal  than  do  the  etchings. 

Curiously  enough,  the  work  of  Fortuny  has  certain  affinities  to  two  schools 
of  painting  which  at  first  sight  one  would  think  as  far  as  possible  removed 
from  him;  that  is,  to  the  Impressionists  and  to  the  Pre-Raphaelites.  For  they, 
as  well  as  he,  resolutely  laced  the  problem  of  outdoor  painting,  and  partic- 
ularly the  painting  of  sunlight.  This  had  never  before  been  seriously  at- 
tempted. Of  course,  we  find  admirable  landscape  work  before  their  time, 
but  work  always  built  on  a convention.  Even  the  Dutch,  so  realistic  in  their 
indoor  work,  did  not  really  seriously  attempt  the  painting  of  outdoor  light, 
most  of  all  of  sunlight.  True,  we  find  some  admirable  outdoor  things  by 
Pieter  de  Hooch  and  by  Vermeer,  but  even  these  seem  rather  hot  and  “foxy” 
when  compared  with  the  best  modern  outdoor  work. 

The  Impressionists,  as  is  well  known,  after  various  experiments,  have  come 
to  trying  to  solve  the  outdoor  problem  by  the  use  of  disintegrated  color.  The 
Pre-Raphaelites,  in  a more  instinctive,  less  reasoned,  logical  way,  arrived  at 
something  the  same  result,  as  far  as  the  use  of  free  color  went;  though,  of 
course,  the  finish  and  aspect  of  their  work  were  very  different.  Fortuny  did 
not  disdain  the  skilful  use  of  pure  color,  here  or  there,  hut  in  doing  sunlight 
he  trusted  mostly  to  his  admirable  drawing  of  the  shadows;  for  he,  like  most 
other  remarkable  technicians,  was  primarily  a draftsman.  His  touch  was 
crisp  and  sure,  yet  of  a nervous  quality  quite  different  from  that  of  his  imita- 
tors. Where  the  Impressionists  almost  disregarded  drawings  in  the  sense  in 
which  we  generally  use  the  term,  and  got  their  effect  by  noting  very  subtle 
color-shifts  and  relations,  Fortuny  achieved  his  outdoor  results  by  drawing  the 
shapes  of  the  shadows  with  extreme  care. 

In  the  Stewart  Collection  in  Paris  there  used  to  hang,  in  the  midst  of  the 
splendid  pictures,  a small  round  palette,  uncleaned,  with  two  or  three  big, 
dingy  brushes  stuck  through  the  opening  for  the  thumb.  This  was  the  palette 
of  Fortuny,  just  as  it  was  found  at  his  death  — uncleaned,  with  the  gobs  of 
paint  still  sticking  here  or  there.  The  thing  was  interesting  to  study,  first, 
because  it  seems  that  Fortuny  often  used  large  brushes,  though  his  work  sug- 
gests the  use  of  smaller  ones;  and,  again,  the  palette  itself  was  of  interest  as 
showing  the  kind  of  colors  he  used.  As  one  remembers  it,  these  were  for  the 
most  part  the  simple  colors  used  in  the  schools;  about  the  colors,  too,  that 
Velasquez  used:  white,  black,  vermilion,  cobalt,  verte  emeraude  (which  is 
practically  the  same  as  our  viridian),  and  yellow  ochre,  and,  probably,  a lake 
or  two,  though  these  were  too  much  dried  up  to  be  well  distinguished. 

The  composition  in  Fortuny’s  work  is  intelligent  and  well  considered, 
though  in  some  pictures  it  is  distinctly  more  interesting  than  in  others.  For 
instance,  in  ‘The  Snake-Charmers’  (Plate  u)  there  is  something  unique  and 
bizarre  in  the  arrangement,  and  the  introduction  of  the  grim,  gaunt  ibis  gives 

[711 


30 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


the  thing  an  uncanny  touch  which  suits  the  hypnotizer  of  serpents.  On  the 
other  hand,  ‘The  Spanish  Marriage’  (Plate  ix)  and  the  ‘Choice  of  a Model’ 
(Plate  hi)  are  hardly  so  remarkable  in  line,  though  in  each  the  arrangement, 
with  the  little  figures  at  the  bottom  of  huge  halls,  has  something  of  originality. 
Again,  the  ‘Piping  Shepherd  of  Arcady’  is  delightful  in  arrangement,  though 
simple  enough.  Fortuny  here  has  found  a new  way  of  stating  the  charm  of 
antique  art  and  life,  and  perhaps  it  is  the  charm  that  we  really  feel  most  in 
the  antique;  for  there  is  no  effort  to  reconstitute  antique  times,  as  with  Alma- 
Tadema.  Rather,  this  ‘Piping  Shepherd,’  twin  brother  to  Hawthorne’s 
Donatello,  might  have  lived  in  Robert  of  Sicily’s  time,  or  Caesar  Borgia’s,  or 
only  yesterday,  and,  after  bathing,  idly  have  sat  on  an  old  broken  capital, 
piping  some  old  folk-tune  to  his  long-eared,  fleecy  sheep.  It  is,  after  all,  the 
decay  of  antique  things  that  interests  us. 

Fortuny  was,  curiously  enough,  evidently  influenced  by  Hamon,  a rather 
weak  brother,  friend  of  Gerome  and  other  classicists,  who  invented  a new 
classical  manner  which  he  was  hardly  strong  enough  to  carry  through.  Some 
of  his  pictures  are  quite  delightful  in  intention,  though  rather  washy  in  execu- 
tion. But  Fortuny,  a much  stronger  painter,  was  evidently  deeply  interested 
in  Hamon’s  motifs.  Indeed,  his  little  butterfly  female  figure  sipping  from  a 
flower  is  almost  a copy  of  one  of  Hamon’s  pictures.  Apparently,  after  trying 
this  and  one  or  two  others,  getting  interested  in  the  antique  motif,  he  lit  on 
the  subject  of  this  ‘Piping  Shepherd,’  which  is  quite  unique,  quite  his  own. 
Thus  do  new  subjects  spring  from  the  old. 

This  little  excursus  in  imitation  by  Fortuny  is  interesting  because  it  is  ap- 
parently his  only  one.  For  the  most  part,  he  was  singularly  original.  Indeed, 
that  is  a great  part  of  his  charm  — that  he  is  generally  so  wholly  himself,  so 
different  from  other  men,  yet  at  the  same  time  so  able  and  skilful.  Although 
in  ‘The  Spanish  Marriage,’  in  the  ‘Choice  of  a Model,’  and  in  ‘The  Snake- 
Charmers’  he  found  his  best  way,  yet  he  now  and  then  tried  other  directions. 
The  result  of  one  of  these  wanderings,  the  ‘Faust  and  Marguerite,’  is  hardly 
so  happy  as  his  more  realistic  work.  The  vision  of  the  lover  in  the  garden 
floating  above  the  pianist  in  the  studio,  who  plays  Gounod’s  immortal  love 
music,  comes  dangerously  near  the  verge  of  being  ridiculous. 

The  fact  is,  Fortuny,  at  the  time  of  his  early  death,  was  still  so  young  a man 
that  he  had,  very  likely,  not  found  the  exact  way  in  which  his  best  and  most 
characteristic  work  should  be  done.  As  has  been  suggested,  in  speaking  of 
the  ‘ Beach  at  Portici,’  there  is  a hint  of  a new  manner.  Doubtless  he,  in  his 
own  way,  would  have  developed  into  a manner  not  wholly  different  from  that 
of  Manet  and  of  Whistler,  though  probably  in  rendering  it  would  have  been 
more  skilful. 

The  gesture  of  figures  in  Fortuny’s  work  is  often  significant  and  personal, 
as  in  ‘The  Snake-Charmers’  or  the  posed  young  girl  in  the  ‘Choice  of  a 
Model.’  But  for  the  most  part,  though  the  pose  is  often  good  enough,  it  must 
be  confessed  that  he  seemed  content  to  put  his  figures  in  rather  commonplace 
attitudes,  so  eager  was  he  for  the  joy  of  painting.  After  all,  he  was  most  in- 
terested in  the  aspect  of  things,  the  play  of  light  on  the  surface  of  textures, 

[72] 


FORTU  N Y 


31 


especially  the  glitter  and  cliquetis  of  high-lights  on  armor  or  shining  form.  His 
Academicians  in  the ‘Choice  of  a Model’  stand  about  in  attitudes  effective 
enough,  but  not  very  personal.  However,  they  suited  Fortuny,  whose  pre- 
occupation was  the  painting  of  those  brilliant  coats  of  plum  color,  cuisse  de 
Nymphe,  and  canary  worn  by  the  gentry  of  those  charming  and  idle  times. 
The  play  of  light  on  the  surface  of  things  was  Fortuny’s  great  preoccupation, 
and  at  times  this  left  him  rather  indifferent  to  what  was  significant  and  per- 
sonal in  movement  or  gesture. 

Of  course  it  is  Fortuny’s  technique  of  which  one  hears  most.  With  many 
people  the  name  Fortuny  is  almost  synonymous  with  brilliant  technique. 
“Marvelous,”  “ feerique”  “astounding,”  are  some  of  the  terms  various  en- 
thusiastic artists  have  applied  to  it;  and  brilliant,  indeed,  it  is.  At  the  same 
time,  when  one  studies  it,  one  is  surprised  to  find  how  simple  and  direct  are 
the  means  applied  to  the  end  he  would  gain.  With  Fortuny  there  is  little  or 
no  glazing,  scumbling,  or  the  like.  The  paint  is  put  on  directly,  with  very 
little  teazing  of  the  pigment.  In  short,  Fortuny’s  brilliancy  comes  from  his 
way  of  seeing,  his  intention,  the  way  in  which  he  put  his  picture  together,  even 
more  than  from  his  admirably  direct  and  solid  handling.  The  defects  in  his 
work  come  about  somewhat  from  this  very  directness.  Briefly,  the  defects  in 
his  work  are  a certain  spottiness,  the  high-lights  put  a thought  too  high,  the 
accents  made  a touch  too  dark.  In  his  rage  to  make  his  facture  direct  and 
simple  he  sometimes  did  not  remember  to  tone  down  glitterings  and  accents. 

The  change  in  the  sentiment  regarding  Fortuny  is  very  curious,  and  yet 
fashions  change  so  rapidly  nowadays  that  one  half  understands  it.  Fortuny 
in  his  day  was  accepted,  especially  by  his  countrymen  and  by  Italians,  as  a 
supreme  master.  Later,  we  have  come  to  see  that  he  left  much  unsaid;  that 
his  work,  however  brilliant,  was  limited.  Besides,  this  very  brilliancy,  which 
suited  him  so  well,  had  a most  pernicious  influence  on  the  art  of  Italy  and  of 
Spain.  Fortuny  was  an  original,  not  the  man  to  have  founded  a school.  Italy 
and  Spain,  artistically  speaking,  staggered  under  the  weight  of  his  genius  for 
years.  His  was  not  the  manner  from  which  to  found  a school. 

But  viewed  as  a personality  Fortuny  is  immensely  interesting.  He  did 
some  things  with  a brio  and  dash,  and  yet  with  a truth  which  makes  them 
unique.  He  was  a true  painter.  He  felt  things  more  like  a painter  than  do 
most  men.  Even  his  defects  of  spottiness,  of  over-scintillation,  arise  from  his 
astounding  facility;  and  this  facility  came  from  the  hardest  kind  of  work  and 
study.  It  did  not  arise,  as  it  does  in  the  work  of  some  young  men,  from  mere 
carelessness  and  hurry  to  be  through  with  the  task  in  hand;  rather,  it  was  the 
expression  of  a hand  so  light  and  skilful  that  it  did  easily  things  well-nigh 
impossible  to  others.  But  in  twenty  years  or  in  a hundred  years,  when  people 
can  view  the  latter  end  of  the  nineteenth  century  in  better  perspective  than 
now,  they  will  perceive  the  strength  and,  in  many  ways,  the  justness  of  his 
work.  Fortuny  is  a great  artist,  rather  crowded  out  of  court  at  present  by  the 
jostling  mob  of  mediocrities,  but  he  is  a man  who  must  always  be  interesting, 
though  his  very  qualities  prevent  his  being  among  the  greatest. 

One  reason  why  Fortuny’s  work  is  now  so  comparatively  little  known  is 

[73] 


32 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


that  it  was  snapped  up  by  dealers  and  by  connoisseurs,  often  taken  from  the 
easel,  so  that  the  general  public  knew  little  about  it.  Also,  he  died  so  young 
that  he  had  produced  very  little  work;  and,  while  such  work  as  he  did  had 
enormous  effect  on  the  artists  and  cognoscenti  of  the  time,  the  effect  was 
not  so  lasting  as  it  would  have  been  if  affirmed  by  repeated  shocks  from  new 
and  ever  finer  pictures.  Besides  this,  his  pictures,  being  so  few,  do  not  change 
hands  so  often  as  do  the  works  of  an  artist  of  greater  production,  like  Corot. 
Nothing  stimulates  interest  in  pictures  more  than  their  reappearance  at  great 
sales.  Also,  having  been  uniformly  successful  almost  from  the  beginning,  no 
dealer  found  himself  overstocked  with  his  works,  and  so  did  not  find  it  neces- 
sary to  begin  one  of  those  Campaigns  of  Education  which  dealers  know  so 
well  how  to  manage.  When  his  pictures  do  appear  in  sales  they  sell  for  huge 
prices,  as  was  the  case  the  other  day  at  the  Stewart  Sale,  where  the  ‘Choice 
of  a Model’  sold  for  $ 60,000 . 

While,  as  has  been  said,  with  the  exception  of  the  Hamon  episode,  Fortuny 
apparently  never  directly  imitated  any  one,  he  was  evidently  influenced  by 
certain  men.  During  his  student  days  in  Spain,  and  later  in  Rome,  still  later 
at  Madrid,  he  made  many  copies,  chiefly  from  Velasquez  and  from  Goya. 
It  may  seem  strange  that  an  art  so  brilliant,  baleful,  and  exotic  as  that  of 
Fortuny  should  have  sprung  from  study  of  the  distinguished,  reserved,  yet 
solid  and  well-modeled  work  of  Velasquez.  Yet  Velasquez  is  in  a sense  all 
things  to  all  men:  each  man  finds  in  him  what  he  needs  or  what  he  thinks  he 
needs.  There  are  passages  in  the  work  of  Velasquez — -the  before-mentioned 
ladies  in  the  background  of ‘The  Spinners,’  the  little  ‘Prince  Baltasar  on 
Horseback,’  possibly  the  ‘Infanta  Rose,’  with  her  robe  stiffly  glittering  in 
silver  and  scarlet  — which  one  would  guess  must  have  interested  Fortuny. 
With  Goya  it  is  different.  One  perceives  a nearer  kinship  between  the  two 
men,  though  Fortuny  always  preserved  a science  and  a conscience  of  design, 
a solid  impasto,  quite  different  from  the  careless,  sleazy,  washy  workmanship 
of  the  older  man. 

Of  course  Fortuny  had  a host  of  imitators,  and  some  of  these  followers 
were  immensely  brilliant.  But  it  is  too  little  to  say  he  had  imitators,  for  he 
revolutionized  the  whole  painting  of  Spain  and  of  Italy.  For  thirty  years  his 
influence  was  paramount  in  these  countries;  and  this  same  influence  of  his 
was  not  a good  one.  That  virtuosite  which  in  him  was  so  delightful,  so  appar- 
ently easily  accomplished,  became  in  many  of  the  others  mere  grimacing  and 
posing.  The  others  forgot  that  keen  observation  and  study  of  nature  which, 
after  all,  was  the  basis  of  his  accomplishment,  and  merely  imitated  what  they 
thought  were  his  tricks  of  hand.  More:  they  tried  to  apply  his  methods  to 
tasks  for  which  it  was  not  suited;  to  historical  painting,  for  instance.  None 
the  less,  some  of  these  fellows  were  enormously  habile.  Some  of  Boldini’s 
early  works,  done  very  much  under  the  master’s  influence,  are  almost  the 
last  word  of  demoniac  cleverness.  Madrazo’s  early  work  was  very  able,  and 
was,  by  the  way,  simpler  and  better  considered  than  that  of  most  of  the  follow- 
ers. Fscosura  did  smart  things,  and  Casanova  y Estorach  used  to  paint  de- 
testable pictures  of  priests  with  infernal  skill.  Martin  Rico  for  years  dictated 

[74] 


FORTUNY 


33 


the  way  Venice  should  look,  and  Pradilla,  Domingo,  and  a host  of  others 
made  brilliant  performances. 

At  the  same  time  this  brilliant  art  that  suited  so  well  one  particular  tem- 
perament was  not  the  art  for  a whole  country,  and  the  Spaniards,  the  Italians 
also,  of  late  years  have  come  to  feel  this.  Spanish  art  has  taken  two  main 
courses;  perhaps  other  small  directions  make  a delta  of  her  art  tendencies. 
Ignacio  Zuloaga,  studying  the  older  masters,  who  are  still  the  chief  glory  of 
Spain,  studying  more  especially  Velasquez  and  El  Greco,  and  imitating  them 
in  manner  more  closely  than  any  man  has  done  till  now,  has  evolved  a style 
which,  despite  its  defects  of  blackness  and  brutality,  is  more  typical  of  Spam, 
is  more  suggestive  of  her  national  characteristics,  than  any  that  has  yet  been 
seen. 

On  the  other  hand,  Sorolla  y Bastida,  working  through  the  manner  of 
Bastien-Lepage  toward  the  Impressionist  methods,  and  assimilating  these 
last  with  a good  deal  of  intelligence,  has  produced  works  full  of  vigor  and 
effectiveness  which  tell  at  least  something  of  the  sun  of  Spain,  of  the  way  the 
sea  and  the  sky  and  the  air  look  there  — things  which  the  imitators  of  Fortuny 
somehow  missed  in  their  efforts  at  brilliancy  and  cleverness. 

The  Italians,  too,  have  changed.  In  modern  Italian  art  one  recognizes 
particularly  two  names:  the  late  Segantini,  whose  art,  at  first  a little  reminis- 
cent of  Millet  and  technically  founded  on  a disintegration  of  color  which  the 
Italians  call  divisionism,  is  distinctly  interesting,  though  of  marked  defects; 
and  Mancini,  whose  curious  pictures  crossed  with  squares  scratched  on  the 
canvas,  with,  at  times,  hits  of  glass  or  tin  placed  to  make  the  high-lights 
glister,  are  far  better  than  these  curious  idiosyncrasies  would  lead  one  to 
think. 

Fortuny  did  very  little  portrait-painting,  yet  one  of  his  portraits  at  least, 
the  one  which  now  hangs  in  the  Metropolitan  Museum,  enjoys  a certain  repu- 
tation. It  is  evident  in  this  that  he  was  trying  very  hard  to  make  the  thing 
“like,”  and  not  to  be  merely  clever;  and,  indeed,  it  is  quite  apparent  that  the 
picture  is  “like.”  The  Spanish  type  of  the  lady  is  well  preserved.  As  to  the 
painting  of  the  dress,  which  has  been  very  highly  praised  in  some  quarters, 
it  is  indeed  capable  and  carefully  studied.  At  the  same  time,  one  feels  the 
blacks  a little  too  dark:  one  has  the  sense  that  the  thing  is  frittered  up.  It  is  a 
very  interesting  portrait,  because  it  gives  the  character  and  does  not  look  like 
another’s  work.  Perhaps,  however,  it  is  not  wholly  successful.  It  lacks  a 
little  of  that  “gusto,”  that  joy  in  playing  with  paint,  that  marks  some  of 
Fortuny’s  other  work. 

Fortuny  had  a passion  for  arms,  for  swords,  halberds,  chain-mail;  for 
anything,  in  fact,  which  would  take  an  effective  glitter-point.  But  apart  from 
this  he  was  interested  in  arms  for  their  own  sake.  Fie  had  a forge,  and  it  is 
said  that  he  could  make  a very  good  sword  himself.  It  was  this  interest  in 
weapons  that  had  much  to  do  with  his  friendship  for  Baron  Davillier,  M.  de 
Beaumont,  and  others  who,  besides  being  artists  or  connoisseurs  in  art,  also 
took  an  interest  in  the  allied  arts,  especially  those  of  ironwork  and  armory. 
Fortuny  shares  this  interest  in  arms  with  a modern  Spanish  painter — -that  is, 

[75] 


34 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


Ignacio  Zuloaga  — whose  father  was  an  armorer  and  who  can  himself 
fashion  a weapon  with  something  of  the  skill  of  the  old  artisans  of  Toledo. 
Fortuny’s  collection  of  arms  was  quite  remarkable.  It  was  begun  when  he 
could  only  pick  up  a thing  here  and  there;  but  toward  the  end  of  his  short  life, 
when  he  was  making  money  fast,  he  was  able  to  add  a great  many  very  fine 
specimens  to  his  collection. 

Fortuny  is  often  spoken  of  as  if  he’ were  a light,  frivolous  painter.  It  is 
said  that  he  only  looked  “at  the  surface  of  things;”  that  his  aims  were  not 
very  high;  that  he  was  not  “serious.”  Some  of  these  sayings  may  be  true  of 
his  imitators;  hardly  so  much  so  of  himself,  except  that  he  looked  at  the  sur- 
face of  things.  That  was  natural  enough.  It  is  the  way  all  great  painters  have 
done.  Indeed,  there  has  been  nothing  else  for  them  to  look  at.  It  is  true, 
however,  that  Fortuny  was  sometimes  so  fascinated  by  the  glamor  of  surface 
detail  that  he  forgot  to  render  the  aspect  of  the  whole.  He  had,  in  a word, 
the  defects  of  his  qualities.  No  one  could  make  a “ morceau”  look  more  in- 
teresting; but  he  did  not  always  keep  every  bit  in  its  proper  relation  to  every 
other  bit. 

In  trying  to  find  the  thing  that  best  describes  Fortuny’s  quality,  his  attitude 
toward  the  life  he  painted,  one  pitches  on  the  word  virtuosite.  He  was,  in- 
deed, like  a violinist  who  plays  so  beautifully  that  one  almost  forgets  the 
matter  from  the  exquisite  way  in  which  it  is  expressed.  In  his  painting,  in 
his  etching,  most  of  all,  perhaps,  in  his  pen-and-ink  drawing,  he  showed  a 
virtuosite , a delightful  way  of  doing  the  thing,  which  surprised  most  men. 
There  was  good  matter  in  his  best  work.  The  composition  was  there,  the 
color,  admirable  drawing  was  there;  but  after  all,  beyond  all  these,  beyond 
even  the  skilful,  thoughtful  workmanship,  was  a delightful  personal  way  of 
saying  the  thing,  a certain  esprit , a certain  lightness  of  touch  — a nervous 
touch  that  came  sometimes  almost  to  trembling,  and  which  made  his  work 
different,  more  exquisitely  brilliant,  than  the  work  of  heavier-handed  men. 


% fie  Sfrt  of  ^fortuity 

CHARLES  YRIARTE  ‘MARIANO  FORTUNY’ 

THE  influence  of  Fortuny  has  been  real.  In  his  “genre”  he  was  the  head 
of  a school  in  the  sense  that  after  him  one  saw  a pleiad  of  able  executants 
spring  up,  mievre,  scintillating,  lacking  ideas,  who  have  betrayed  their  master 
and  belittled  him.  It  is  not  a new  truth  that  disciples  are  more  apt  to  exag- 
gerate the  faults  of  the  master  than  to  borrow  his  good  qualities.  Gifted  with 
a wonder-working  hand,  Fortuny,  without  meaning  to,  created  the  “School 
of  the  Hand.”  His  real  science,  joined  with  an  indisputable  charm,  which 
every  one  has  surrendered  to,  his  love  of  light,  his  cult  for  the  sun,  a je  tie  sens 
quoi  of  unexpected  in  the  choice  of  the  subject,  in  the  idea  and  the  rendering, — 
th  ese  things  have  made  his  reputation,  and  it  was  legitimate. 

[70] 


FORTU  NY 


35 


But  those  about  him  soon  came  to  think  that  to  load  a model  with  a 
costume  of  bright  colors  and  to  put  him  against  a more  or  less  appropriate 
background  was  enough  to  make  a picture.  The  time,  the  hour,  the  epoch, 
the  country,  the  special  atmosphere  of  each  place — -the  soul  of  things;  in  a 
word,  the  character  — no  longer  existed  for  a certain  number  of  artists  with- 
out critical  sense,  without  intelligence,  without  foundation,  who  made  up  for 
science  of  design  by  juggling  with  the  brush  and  by  the  seduction  of  their 
touch,  while,  perhaps,  even  among  those  having  the  most  authority,  the 
strongest,  no  one  rendered  the  character  and  types  of  Moorish  life  as  did 
Fortuny. 

Zamacois  had  so  piquant,  so  penetrating,  an  intelligence  that  one  of  his 
pictures  of  which  he  had  described  the  subject  would  be  almost  as  interesting 
as  the  picture  itself;  hut  a great  number  of  others,  who  had  not  this  penetra- 
tion or  this  knowledge,  borrowed  only  the  costumes  of  these  two  and  created 
an  empty  art,  full  of  imposture,  against  which  men  like  Bastien-Lepage,  Roll, 
Gervex,  and  a whole  new  pleiad  reacted  with  great  violence. 

They  thought  that  it  sufficed  to  reunite  in  a canvas  as  many  brilliant 
figures  as  possible  if  they  wished  to  reconstitute  an  epoch;  but,  not  being  con- 
vinced themselves,  they  did  not  succeed  in  convincing  others.  And  this  art 
of  the  hand  which  triumphed  for  an  instant  is  to-day  worn  out,  and  imposes 
on  nobody. 

In  art  one  must  be  docile,  and  let  one’s  self  be  led  as  by  the  hand  by  the 
artist:  if  he  can  persuade  you,  move  you,  and  touch  you,  one  need  not  debate 
his  emotion;  rather  be  happy  for  having  felt  it.  The  varieties  of  tempera- 
ment in  artists,  their  different  points  of  view,  the  opposing  faculties  with  which 
they  are  gifted,  are  just  what  make  up  the  riches  of  this  kingdom  of  art.  Is 
there  not,  for  instance,  a singular  contrast  between  Mariano  Fortuny  and 
Francois  Millet  ? 

RICHARD  MUTHER  ‘HISTORY  OF  MODERN  PAINTING’ 

HIS  residence  in  the  East,  which  lasted  from  five  to  six  months,  was  a 
discovery  for  him  — a feast  of  delight.  He  found  the  opportunity  of 
studying  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  a people  whose  life  was  opulent  in 
color  and  wild  in  movement;  and  he  beheld  with  wonder  the  gleaming  pic- 
torial episodes  so  variously  enacted  before  him,  and  the  rich  costumes  upon 
which  the  radiance  of  the  South  glanced  in  a hundred  reflections.  And,  in 
particular,  when  the  Emperor  of  Morocco  came  with  his  brilliant  suite  to 
sign  the  treaty  of  peace,  Fortuny  developed  a feverish  activity.  The  great 
battle-piece  which  he  should  have  executed  on  the  commission  of  the  Academy 
of  Barcelona  remained  unfinished.  On  the  other  hand,  he  painted  a series  of 
Oriental  pictures,  in  which  his  astonishing  dexterity  and  his  marvelously 
sensitive  eye  were  already  to  be  clearly  discerned:  the  stalls  of  Moorish  carpet- 
sellers,  with  little  figures  swarming  about  them,  and  the  rich  display  of  woven 
stuffs  of  the  East;  the  weary  attitude  of  old  Arabs  sitting  in  the  sun;  the 
somber,  brooding  faces  of  the  strange  snake-charmers  and  magicians.  This 
is  no  Parisian  East,  like  Fromentin’s;  every  one  here  is  speaking  Arabic.  It  is 

[”] 


36 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


only  Guillaumet  who  afterwards  interpreted  the  fakir  world  of  the  East, 
dreamy  and  contemplative  in  the  sunshine,  in  a manner  equally  convincing. 

Yet  Fortuny  first  discovered  his  peculiar  province  when  he  began,  after  his 
return,  to  paint  those  brilliant  kaleidoscopic  rococo  pictures  with  their  charm- 
ing play  of  color,  the  pictures  which  founded  his  reputation  in  Paris.  Even  in 
the  earliest,  representing  gentlemen  of  the  rococo  period  examining  en- 
gravings in  a richly  appointed  interior,  the  Japanese  weapons,  Renaissance 
chests,  gilded  frames  of  carved  wood,  and  all  the  delightful  petit-riens  from 
the  treasury  of  the  past  which  he  had  heaped  in  it  together  were  so  wonder- 
fully painted  that  Goupil  began  a connection  with  him  and  ordered  further 
works.  This  commission  occasioned  his  journey,  in  the  autumn  of  1866,  to 
Paris,  where  he  entered  into  Meissonier’s  circle,  and  worked  sometimes  at 
Gerome’s.  Yet  neither  of  them  exerted  any  influence  upon  him  at  all  worth 
mentioning.  The  French  painter  in  miniature  is,  probably,  the  father  of  the 
department  of  art  to  which  Fortuny  belongs;  but  the  latter  united  to  the  deli- 
cate execution  of  the  Frenchman  the  flashing,  gleaming  spirit  of  the  Latin 
races  of  the  South.  He  is  a Meissonier  with  esprit  recalling  Goya.  In  his 
picture  ‘The  Spanish  Marriage’  (‘La  Vicaria’)  all  the  vivid,  throbbing, 
rococo  world,  buried  with  Goya,  revived  once  more.  While  in  his  Oriental 
pieces  — ‘The  Praying  Arab,’  ‘The  Arabian  Fantasia,’  and  ‘The  Snake- 
Charmers’ — he  still  aimed  at  concentration  and  unity  of  effect,  this  picture 
had  something  gleaming,  iridescent,  and  pearly  which  soon  became  the  de- 
light of  all  collectors.  Fortuny’s  success,  his  celebrity,  and  his  fortune  dated 
from  that  time.  His  name  went  up  like  a meteor.  After  fighting  long  years  in 
vain,  not  for  recognition,  but  for  his  very  bread,  he  suddenly  became  the 
most  honored  painter  of  the  day,  and  began  to  exert  upon  the  whole  generation 
of  young  artists  that  powerful  influence  which  survives  even  at  this  very  day. 

The  studio  which  he  built  for  himselt  after  his  marriage  with  the  daughter 
of  Federigo  Madrazo  in  Rome  was  a little  museum  ot  the  most  exquisite 
products  of  the  artistic  crafts  of  the  West  and  the  East:  the  walls  were  deco- 
rated with  brilliant  Oriental  stuffs,  and  great  glass  cabinets  with  Moorish  and 
Arabian  weapons  and  old  tankards  and  glasses  from  Murano  stood  around. 
He  sought  and  collected  everything  that  shines  and  gleams  in  varying  color. 
That  was  his  world  and  the  basis  of  his  art. 

Pillars  of  marble  and  porphyry,  groups  of  ivory  and  bronze,  lusters  of 
Venetian  glass,  gilded  consoles  with  small  busts,  great  tables  supported  by 
gilded  satyrs  and  inlaid  with  variegated  mosaics,  form  the  surroundings  of 
that  astonishing  work  ‘The  Trial  of  the  Model.’  Upon  a marble  table  a 
young  girl  is  standing  naked,  posing  before  a row  ot  Academicians  in  the 
costume  of  the  Louis  xv  period,  while  each  one  of  them  gives  his  judgment 
by  a movement  or  an  expression  of  the  face.  One  of  them  has  approached 
quite  close  and  is  examining  the  little  woman  through  his  lorgnette.  All  the 
costumes  gleam  in  a thousand  hues  which  the  marble  reflects.  By  his  picture 
‘The  Poet’  (Plate  vii),  or ‘The  Rehearsal,’  he  reached  his  highest  point  in  the 
capricious  analysis  of  light.  In  the  old  rococo  garden,  with  the  brilliant  fa9ade 
of  the  Alhambra  as  its  background,  there  is  a gathering  of  gentlemen  assembled 

[78] 


FORTUNY 


37 


to  witness  the  rehearsal  of  a tragedy.  "I  he  heroine,  a tall,  charming,  luxuriant 
beauty,  has  just  fallen  into  a faint.  On  the  other  hand,  the  hero,  holding  the 
lady  on  his  right  arm,  is  reading  the  verses  of  his  part  from  a large  manu- 
script. The  gentlemen  are  listening  and  exchanging  remarks  with  the  air  of 
connoisseurs;  one  of  them  closes  his  eyes  to  listen  with  thorough  attention. 
Here  the  entire  painting  flashes  like  the  rocket,  and  is  iridescent  and  brilliant 
like  a peacock’s  tail.  Fortuny  splits  the  rays  of  the  sun  in  endless  nuances 
which  are  scarcely  perceptible  to  the  eye,  and  gives  expression  to  their  flashing 
glitter  with  astonishing  delicacy.  Henri  Regnault,  who  visited  him  at  that 
time  in  Rome,  wrote  to  a Parisian  friend:  “The  time  I spent  with  Fortuny 
yesterday  is  haunting  me  still.  What  a magnificent  fellow  he  is!  He  paints  the 
most  marvelous  things  and  is  master  of  us  all.  I wish  I could  show  you  the 
two  or  three  pictures  that  he  has  in  hand,  or  his  etchings  and  water-colors. 
They  inspired  me  with  a real  disgust  of  my  own.  Ah!  Fortuny,  you  spoil  my 
sleep.” 

Even  as  an  etcher  he  caught  all  the  technical  finesses  and  appetizing 
piquancies  of  his  great  forerunner,  Goya.  It  is  only  with  very  light  and 
spirited  strokes  that  the  outlines  of  his  figures  are  drawn;  then,  as  in  Goya, 
comes  the  aquatint,  the  color  which  covers  the  background  and  gives  locality, 
depth,  and  light.  A few  scratches  with  a needle,  a black  spot,  a light  made 
by  a (udiciously  inserted  patch  of  white,  and  he  gives  his  figures  life  and 
character,  causing  them  to  emerge  from  the  black  depth  of  the  background 
like  mysterious  visions.  ‘The  Dead  Arab,’  covered  with  his  black  cloth,  and 
lying  on  the  ground  with  his  musket  on  his  arm;  ‘The  Shepherd,’  on  the  stump 
of  a pillar;  ‘The  Serenade;’  ‘The  Reader;’  ‘The  Tambourine  Player;’  ‘The 
Pensioner;’  the  picture  of  the  gentleman  with  a pig-tail,  bending  over  his 
flowers;  ‘The  Anchorite;’  and  ‘The  Arab  mourning  over  the  Body  of  his 
Friend’  are  the  most  important  of  his  plates,  which  are  sometimes  pungent 
and  spirited  and  sometimes  somber  and  fantastic. 

In  the  picture  ‘The  Strand  of  Portici’  he  attempted  to  strike  out  a new 
path.  He  was  tired  of  the  gay  rags  of  the  eighteenth  century,  as  he  said  him- 
self, and  meant  to  paint  for  the  future  only  subjects  from  surrounding  life  in 
an  entirely  modern  manner  like  that  of  Manet.  But  he  was  not  destined  to 
carry  out  this  change  any  further.  He  passed  away  in  Rome  on  November  21, 
1874.  When  the  unsold  works  which  he  left  were  put  up  to  auction  the  small- 
est sketches  fetched  high  figures,  and  even  his  etchings  were  bought  at  mar- 
velous prices. 

In  these  days  the  enthusiasm  for  Fortuny  is  no  longer  so  glowing.  The 
capacity  to  paint  became  so  ordinary  in  the  course  of  years  that  it  was  pre- 
supposed as  a matter  of  course;  it  was  a necessary  acquirement  for  an  artist 
to  have  before  approaching  his  pictures  in  a psychological  fashion.  And  in 
this  latter  respect  there  is  a deficiency  in  Fortuny.  He  is  a charmeur  who 
dazzles  the  eyes,  but  rather  creates  a sense  of  astonishment  than  holds  the 
spectator  in  his  grip.  Beneath  his  hands  painting  has  become  a matter  of  pure 
virtuosity;  a marvelous,  flaring  firework  that  amazes  and  — leaves  us  cold 
after  all.  With  enchanting  delicacy  he  runs  through  the  great  gamut  of 

[79] 


38 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


radiant  colors  upon  the  small  keyboard  of  his  little  pictures  painted  with  a 
pocket-lens,  and  everything  glitters  golden,  like  the  dress  of  a fairy.  To  the 
patience  of  Meissonier  he  united  a delicacy  of  color,  a wealth  of  pictorial 
point,  and  a crowd  of  delightful  trifles  which  combine  to  make  him  the  most 
exquisite  and  fascinating  juggler  of  the  palette  — an  amazing  colorist  of  a 
wonderful  clown,  an  original  and  subtle  painter  with  vibrating  nerves,  but 
not  a truly  great  and  moving  artist.  His  pictures  are  dainties  in  gold  frames, 
jewels  delicately  set,  astonishing  efforts  of  patience,  broken  by  a flashing, 
rocket-like  esprit;  but  beneath  the  glittering  surface  one  is  conscious  of  there 
being  nether  heart  nor  soul.  His  art  might  have  been  French  or  Italian  iust 
as  appropriately  as  Spanish.  It  is  the  art  of  virtuosos  of  the  brush,  and 
Fortuny  himself  is  the  initiator  of  a religion  — of  a religion  which  found  its 
enthusiastic  followers,  not  in  Madrid  alone,  but  in  Naples,  Paris,  and  Rome. 


Cl )e  WotkQ  of  jfottuny 

DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  PLATES 

‘PORTRAIT  OF  A SPANISH  LADY*  PLATE  I 

A PICTURE  that  has  been  highly  spoken  of  by  various  critics.  Among 
other  things,  the  “quality”  of  the  blacks  has  been  much  admired.  The 
picture  is  particularly  skilful  in  the  way  in  which  the  small  details  are  man- 
aged. Indeed,  they  are  over-managed;  one  is  a little  too  conscious  of  them. 
The  quality  of  black  is,  however,  agreeable  in  color  — a difficult  aff  air  to  man- 
age. The  curious,  almost  woolly,  hair  is  to  be  noted  as  a characteristic  touch; 
and  the  face  itself,  with  the  strongly  marked  black  eyebrows,  the  large  black 
eyes,  the  long  and  curiously  thin  nose,  is  typically  Spanish. 

‘THE  SNAKE-CHARMERS’  PLATE  II 

PERHAPS  this  is  one  of  the  most  successful  of  Fortuny’s  pictures.  The 
technique  is  adequate,  more  than  adequate,  since  it  is  very  brilliant  as 
well.  The  drawing  of  the  arms  of  the  two  male  figures  is  particularly  skilful 
and  able,  whde  the  painting  of  the  rug  has  all  Fortuny’s  virtuosite,  although 
the  picture  is  comparatively  early;  that  is,  it  dates  from  some  time  before  ‘The 
Spanish  Marriage’  and  the  ‘Choice  of  a Model.’  Note  the  interesting  Moorish 
vase  or  bowl  in  the  foreground  and  the  curious  helmet  behind  the  reclining 
figure.  The  introduction  of  the  ibis  is  a master  stroke,  and  quite  character- 
istic of  Fortuny,  who,  despite  bis  quiet  manner,  loved  the  bizarre  in  art.  It 
seems  as  if  Fortuny  had  taken  all  the  things  he  liked  — glittering  metals, 
curiously  inlaid  helmets,  the  bronze  nude  of  the  south.  Eastern  rugs,  strange 
exotic  plumage — -and  jumbled  them  all  together  into  a picture  made  to 
please  himself.  It  is  like  a kaleidoscope,  turned  yet  once  again  to  give  a new 
and  wholly  unheard  of  disposition  of  things. 

[80] 


FORTU  NY 


39 


‘CHOICE  OF  A MODEL’  PLATE  III 

MR.  A.  G.  TEMPLE  says  of  this  picture:  “The  year  1870  saw  the  com- 
pletion of  another  gem  of  high  finish,  ‘The  Selection  of  a Model’  (be- 
longing now  to  Senator  W.  A.  Clark,  of  Montana,  but  formerly  in  the  posses- 
sion of  Fortuny’s  intimate  friend,  Mr.  A.  T.  Stewart).  It  had  been  begun 
many  years  before.  A group  of  Academicians  of  St.  Luke,  nine  in  number, 
are  standing  around  a marble  table,  on  which  the  nude  figure  of  a woman 
stands  in  a graceful  attitude,  her  fashionable  clothing  thrown  aside  just  be- 
neath her.  Comment  and  criticism  engage  them  closely.  In  costume  they 
exhibit  all  the  extravagance  of  color  and  ornamentation  which  belonged  to 
the  reign  of  Louis  xv.  The  lofty  and  spacious  interior,  studied  from  the 
Pal  azzo  Colonna  at  Rome,  is  impressive  with  its  massive  columns  of  marble 
and  porphyry,  about  the  capitals  of  which  sumptuous  draperies  are  gathered; 
and  the  scene  is  lightened  by  richly  stained  glass  windows.  Groups  of  ivory 
and  bronze  are  introduced,  and  gilded  consoles,  elegant  brackets  and  lusters 
of  Venetian  glass,  and  costly  inlaid  tables,  while  the  walls  are  embellished  with 
polished  brass  and  mirrors  of  gorgeous  rococo  frames.  Some  of  the  exquisite 
objects  displayed  were  borrowed,  it  is  said,  from  the  Vatican  tor  the  purposes 
of  study.” 

‘MOORISH  BLACKSMITHS’  PLATE  IV 

MR.  A.  G.  TEMPLE  in  his ‘Spanish  Painters’  says  of  this  picture:  “This 
shows  the  mastery  of  technique  Fortuny  had  acquired  before  he  was 
thirty  years  of  age.  The  semi-nude  figures  are  modeled  as  if  in  glistering 
bronze,  and  with  an  admirable  decision  of  line;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
group  of  poultry  on  the  right  is  painted  with  a freedom  which  recalls  the  work 
of  the  most  accomplished  Impressionist.  The  picture  is  one  of  his  greatest 
works,  with  its  rich,  transparent  shadows  and  well-controlled  lights.” 

‘BREAKFAST  AT  THE  ALHAMBRA’  PLATE  V 

IF  one  were  to  name  a fault  in  Fortuny’s  work  it  would  be  that  it  seems  a 
little  “spotty.”  Certainly  this  picture  seems  so,  and  yet  at  the  same  time 
how  effective  it  is!  Fortuny  understood  wonderfully  well  how  to  base  and 
space  his  light  and  dark  spots,  and  in  this  picture  the  balance  of  light-robed 
figures  with  the  white  wall  is  well  achieved,  as  are  the  dark  spots  of  the  per- 
gola above,  the  dark  spots  of  green  on  the  white  wall,  and  the  touches  of  dark 
costume  scattered  here  and  there.  Fortuny  achieved  his  sunlight  effects  by 
strong  contrasts  of  light  and  dark  rather  than  by  modern  Impressionist 
methods,  though  he  arrived  empirically,  as  it  were,  at  a way  of  splitting  up 
his  tones  into  vibrating  and  scintillating  colors. 

‘NEGRO  OF  MOROCCO’  PLATEVI 

HARDLY  so  subtle  and  complicated  as  many  of  Fortuny’s,  yet  it  serves 
admirably  to  show  his  love  of  violent,  barbaric  contrast.  The  thing  is 
less  finished  than  much  of  his  work,  being,  indeed,  a simple  study;  yet  it  is 

[81] 


40 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


evident  enough  from  the  mere  look  of  the  thing  that  Fortuny  took  great  de- 
light in  these  flashing,  blinding  whites,  in  these  glistering  and  somber  blacks. 
This  strange  man,  despite  his  negroid  type,  presents  a very  dignified  appear- 
ance. Doubtless  half  Arab,  he  has  all  the  morgue  and  self-control  of  a sheik. 
It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  head  is  in  sunlight,  a fact  which  one  learns  by  noting 
the  extremely  high  reflected  lights  in  relation  to  the  strongly  cast  shadows 
and  accents.  Black  absorbs  light,  so  that  the  man’s  head  remains  very  dark. 
Besides  other  reasons,  this  head  is  interesting  as  being  quite  different  in 
technique  from  many  of  Fortuny’s  work.  It  has  a broadness,  a oneness  of 
impression,  which  one  does  not  always  see. 

‘GARDEN  OF  THE  POETS’  PLATEVII 

CHARLES  YRIARTE  says  of  this  picture:  “Fortuny  . . . had  made 
two  garden  studies  — one  from  his  own,  another  from  that  belonging 
to  Don  Raphael  Corrieras.  He  imagined  a poet  who  should  be  having  a part 
in  his  tragedy  rehearsed  by  an  actress  before  a very  limited  audience,  who, 
placed  at  a distance,  are  judging  the  effect  of  this  rehearsal  in  the  open  air, 
in  this  luxuriant  ‘ huerta’  (garden)  full  of  light  and  of  the  sun. 

“The  costumes  belong  to  the  eighteenth  century.  The  group  of  the  poet 
and  the  tragedienne  is  dramatic  in  gesture,  while  that  of  the  amateur  is  sober 
and  self-contained.  It  would  be  curious  to  know  what  was  the  association  of 
ideas  that  brought  about  this  singular  composition,  which  wakens  our  thought 
and  pricks  our  curiosity  to  wondering  about  the  picture’s  origin.  Had  some 
Spanish  poet  given  a reading  in  a garden  and  had  Fortuny  embroidered  on 
this  theme  ? . . . We  do  not  know;  but  in  any  case,  we  hold  to  two  things  — 
the  background  is  known;  it  is  a real  one,  and  it  is  the  starting-point  of  the 
picture.  And  perhaps  for  the  first  time  Fortuny,  by  this  subject,  which  has 
in  it  something  strange,  vague,  and  dreamy,  awakens  our  thought  and  carries 
us  into  the  beyond.” 

‘PASTIME  OF  NOBLEMEN'  PLATE  VIII 

THIS  picture  was  painted  at  about  the  same  time  as  the  ‘Rehearsal.’ 
The  garden  is  very  characteristic  of  old  Spain,  and  one  can  well  imagine 
the  young  Cortez  thus  learning  to  fence,  with  perhaps  some  old  prototype  of 
Cervantes  quietly  reading  his  book  in  a corner.  The  painting  of  the  trees 
against  the  wall  is  particularly  remarkable.  The  glitter  of  every  leaf  is  ac- 
counted for,  and  a remarkable  effect  of  brilliancy  is  thus  gained.  The  detail 
in  the  balcony  and  in  the  further  roof  is  remarkable,  and  yet  somehow  does 
not  seem  to  “cut  up”  the  picture,  though  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  general 
effect  of  the  whole  canvas  is  a bit  “spotty.”  The  little  figures  are  put  in  with 
a great  deal  of  chic  and  brio  — with  too  much,  it  may  be. 

‘THE  SPANISH  MARRIAGE’  PLATEIX 

MR.  A.  G.  TEMPLE  says:  “The  scene  is  in  the  sacristy  of  a church  in 
Spain  and  shows  a bridal  party  completing  the  formalities  of  the  mar- 
riage ceremony  by  the  signing  of  the  register.  Their  attire  is  of  the  early  years 

[82] 


FORTUNY 


41 


■of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  contrasts  in  its  richness  and  brilliancy  with  the 
somber  tones  of  the  sacred  interior.  The  bridegroom,  an  old  beau,  active 
and  elegantly  dressed  in  lilac  of  a delicate  shade,  is  in  the  act  of  signing;  while 
the  youthful  bride,  just  a little  aside,  is  half  opening  a blue  fan  as  she  listens 
to  a young  friend  who  bends  forward  to  speak  to  her  and  whose  pink  frock 
in  its  rustling  finish  is  a marvel  of  painting.  The  couple  behind  are  evidently 
the  bride’s  parents,  and  on  their  right  stands  a lady  holding  an  open  fan, 
whose  clear  perfection  is  heightened  to  brilliancy  by  the  vivid  red  rose  in  her 
black  hair.  This  is  a portrait  of  the  Duchess  Colonna.  The  portraits  of  sev- 
eral of  the  painter’s  other  friends  are  in  the  picture. 

“Slightly  on  the  left  of  the  group  is  Meissonier,  his  hand  on  the  hilt  of  his 
heavy  curved  sword;  and  just  in  front  of  him,  seen  in  profile,  is  Madame 
Fortuny,  whose  sister,  Dona  Isabel,  is  bending  forward  to  speak  a word  to 
the  bride.  Henri  Regnault,  the  brilliant  French  painter  w?ho  perished  in  the 
defense  of  Paris  in  1871,  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight,  is  also  in  the  picture. 

“To  the  extreme  lower  end  of  the  picture  is  another  newly-wedded  couple, 
evidently  in  a lower  station  of  life,  awaiting  their  turn  to  approach  and  sign 
their  names.  The  gorgeous  costume  of  the  man  is  that  of  the  bull-fighter, 
while  the  dress  of  his  bride  is  yellow.  A great  feature  of  the  picture  is  the 
painting  of  the  surroundings  — the  faded  Cordovan  leather  on  the  wall,  the 
high  wrought-iron  railings  surmounted  by  beaten  brasswork,  and  the  Venetian 
chandelier  that  hangs  from  the  roof.  The  whole  scene,  of  shimmering  colors, 
is  tranquilized  with  great  skill  by  the  effect  of  cool  gray  light,  against  which 
the  lean  figure  of  the  priest  is  seen.” 

‘JOB’  HATE  X 

THIS  crayon  drawing  is  called  ‘Job,’  although  it  might  be  called  any- 
thing else  as  far  as  the  subject  goes.  Indeed,  its  interest  is  purely  tech- 
nical. It  is  a good  example  of  Fortuny’s  drawing  and  is  included  here  for 
that  reason,  and  also  because  it  is  not  so  well  known  as  is  much  of  his  work. 
Fortuny  drew  the  figure  very  well  when  he  set  himself  to  it,  and  the  drawing 
of  this  figure  shows  it,  although  there  are  places,  like  the  wrist,  where  his  eye 
seems  to  have  lost  sensitiveness.  He  makes  great  use  of  his  shadows  in  this 
as  in  all  of  his  pictures.  They  are  not  very  large,  but  are  used  with  great 
effectiveness,  the  “edges”  being  well  studied. 

A LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  PAINTINGS  BY  FORTUNY 
WITH  THEIR  PRESENT  LOCATIONS 

ENGLAND.  London,  Mrs.  F.  A.  Beer:  Head  of  a Negro  (Plate  vi)  — Lon- 
don, Sir  Cuthbert  Quilter,  Bart.:  A Moorish  Guard  — Warrington,  Cor- 
poration: Acrobats  at  Tetuan  — FRANCE.  Paris,  Marquise  de  Carcana:  Spanish 
Marriage  (Plate  ix)  — Paris,  M.  Ramon  Enrazu:  The  Faust  of  Gounod;  A Souvenir 
of  Morocco;  A Study  of  a Child  — Paris,  Mr.  Hazeltine:  The  Standard  Bearer  — 
Paris,  Baron  Rothschild:  The  Prayer — Paris,  M.  Martin  le  Roy:  The  Bull- 
fighter— ITALY.  Rome,  M.  d’EpinaY:  The  Arquebusier  — SCOTLAND.  Edin- 
burgh, Arthur  Sanderson  : Arabs  hunting  Frogs;  An  Arab  Seated;  A Landscape; 
In  the  Arena;  Seville  — SPAIN.  Barcelona,  Museum:  Charles  of  Anjou  on  the 

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42 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


Shore  of  Naples;  The  Battle  of  Tetuan;  View  on  the  Tiber;  Nereids  on  a Lake;  Bac- 
chante; An  Odalisque — Madrid,  Museum:  The  Battle  of  Wad  Ros;  The  Queen 
Dona  Maria  Cristina  inspiring  the  Spanish  Troops  in  the  first  Carlist  War — Madrid, 
Senor  Bauer:  Moorish  Blacksmith  (Plate  iv) — Madrid,  Senor  Fortuny:  The  Col- 
lector of  Engravings — Madrid,  Senor  Gargolla:  Arabs  feeding  a Vulture;  A Fan  — 
Reus,  M.  Saberano:  Our  Virgin  of  Pity- — Seville,  Senor  Goyena:  A Concert  — 
UNITED  STATES.  Baltimore,  Walters  Gallery:  The  Mendicants;  Don  Quixote; 
The  Snake-Charmers  (Plate  n);  The  Rose  Vase;  An  Ecclesiastic  — New  York,  Met- 
ropolitan Museum:  A Pond  near  Tangiers;  Portrait  of  Madame  Garcia;  Camels  at 
Rest — New  York,  W.  A.  Clark:  A Street  in  Tangiers;  Academicians  of  St.  Luke 
selecting  a Model  (Plate  in);  Gipsy  Caves,  Granada  — New  York,  G.  Gould:  Break- 
fast in  the  old  Convent  Garden  of  the  Alhambra  (Plate  v) — New  York,  C.  S.  Smith: 
Mandolin  Player  — New  York,  G.  W.  Vanderbilt:  An  Arab  Fantasia,  Tangiers; 
The  Birth  of  the  Butterfly;  A Fencing  Lesson  (Plate  vm);  A Court  Fool. 


BERANGER  III.  nailing  the  Arms  of  Barcelona  to  the  Castle  of  Foix;  Arabs 
dancing;  The  Butterfly;  Cafe  des  Hirondelles;  The  Departure  of  the  Procession  in 
the  Rain  from  the  Church  of  Santa  Cruz,  Madrid;  The  Masquerade;  A Carnival  in  the 
Last  Century;  The  Masks;  A Roman  Country  Woman;  An  Old  Roman  Peasant;  A 
Fruit-shop  in  Granada;  Arabs  reclining  on  a Divan;  A Circassian;  Horsemen  in 
Morocco;  Corpus  Christi;  La  Femme  Couchee;  The  Espada;  Fowls  and  Ducks  in  a 
Farmyard;  A Prison  Door;  The  Court  of  the  House  of  Chapiz,  Granada;  The  Council 
House  at  Granada;  The  Court  of  Justice,  Alhambra;  The  Garden  of  the  Arcadians; 
The  Strand  at  Portici;  The  Knife  Grinder;  A Matador;  A Papal  Guard;  The  Umbrella 
Maker;  The  Antiquary;  A Dead  Donkey;  Transport  of  Arab  Prisoners;  An  Idyll; 
Arabs  and  Dogs;  An  Arab;  In  the  Garden;  Tete-a-Tete;  Returning  to  the  Convent; 
Three  Odalisques;  Two  Children  playing  in  a Japanese  Room. 


YRIARTE,  C.  Mariano  Fortuny.  Paris,  1886 — Temple,  A.  G.  Spanish  Paint- 
ers— Davii.lier.  Fortuny,  Vie  et  CEuvres.  Paris,  1875. 


ALLGEMEINE  ZEITUNG,  1881:  Fortuny  und  die  Modern  Malerei  der  Spanier  — 
.L’Art,  1875:  C.  Yriarte;  Fortuny  — Old  and  New,  1875:  A.  Brewster; 

Mariano  Fortuny. 


PRIVATE  COLLECTIONS 


MAGAZINE  ARTICLES 


(84] 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


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GETTY  CENTER  LIBRARY 

NO  813  F74  M42 
C.  1 

Fortuny : Spanish  school 


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